Cheese-drying process



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1. H. MEYERS CHEESE DRYING PROCESS.

HLED MAR.7.1921.

Feu m, 1923.,

uit

CHEESE-DRYING PROCESS.

Application tiled March 7, 1921. Serial No. M0399.

To all whom, t may concern.'

Be it known that ll, JULIUS llt. Marlins, a citizen of the lUnitedStates', and a resident .of the city of Glencoe, in the county of. Cookand State of llllinois, have invented certain ne-W and usefulimprovements in a Cheese-Drying Process; and lt do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same,reference being had to the accom anying drawings, and to the numerals ofre erence marked thereon, which form a part of this specilication.

ln the manufacture of cheese after green cheeses have been eut up intosmall pieces and pressed in small individual molds to produce smallcheeses of predetermined size having smooth outer surfaces free fromholes and irregularities, it has been found that moisture from theinterior of the small .cheeses accumulates on the exterior surfaces ofthe cheeses. llt therefore requires considerable time and space topermit the small cheeses to dry, j

This invention, therefore, relates to a process whereby s all cheesesare adapted to have the cute surfaces thereof properly dried by passingthe Same through a casing having a current of hot air flowingtherethrough in a direction opposite to the move-` ment of the cheesesthrough the casing.

llt is an object of this invention to provide a process whereby formedindividual cheeses 'may be dried ina comparatively short time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cheese drying processwherein individual cheeses are conducted through a eurrent of'heated airover a roller table.

llt is a further object of this invention to provide a cheese dryingprocess wherein the moisture accumulating on the surfaces of formedcheeses is adapted to be readily evaporated by conveying the cheese bymeans of a roller table through a casing against a current of hot air.

llt is an important object of this invention to provide a cheese dryingprocess of simple and edective form wherein all the surfaces of cheeseslmay be dried by subjecting the cheeses to a current of hot dry air asthe cheeses are conducted throughva casing over a roller mechanism.

Other and further important objects of this invention will apparent fromthe vrollers 12 are adapted to be disclosures, in the specification anddrawtt partly broken away andl showing the cas- 6.5

ing 1n section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section taken on line 3 8 of Figure 2.

Figure et is an enlarged fragmentary t-op plan view of one end of theroller tab As shown on the drawings: 4 The drying machine comprises aframe 1 having rotatably supported at one end thereof a driving shaft 2on one end of which a driving wheel 3 is secured to be 75 driven by abelt from any suitable source of power. A wheel i is secured on theopposite end of the driving shaft 2 and has trained thereover an endlessbelt 5. The

belt 5 is also engaged around a wheel 6 8,0

supported on one endA of a shaft 7 mounted transversely of the dischargeend of the machine. rllhe up-per flight of the belt 5 is alternatelyconducted under large wheels 8 andl small idler wheels 9. The smallidler 85 wheels 9are supported on pins or stub shafts 10, which aresupported in one ofthe sills of the frame 1. The larger wheels 8 aresecured on the projecting ends ,of a plu rality of parallel shafts oraxles 11,'which 9o are journalled transversely of the machine in theframe sills. Secured on each of the shafts ll'between the frame sills isa roller 12 which projects above the frame 1. The

wheels 8 and the belt 5.

rllhe roller table consisting of the frame 1 and the rollers 12 extends:through a long insulated casing 13 opening at both ends to permitcheeses 'lt to be dried, to be 10@ conducted through the casing 13 overthe rotating rollers 12. A due orpipe 15 is mounted on the top of theoutlet end of the casing 13 to permit a current of hot dry air to loeforced forwardly through the 105A casing 13, in a direction Vopposite tothe path of the cheeses through the machine. The pipe 15 is adapted tobe connected with rotated by the 95 any suitable source of hot airsupply. To cause the hot air to fiow through the casing 13 .in thedirection desired, a suction or a vblow motor may be connected with saidcasing.

The process covering this invention consists in artificially drying thesurfaces of small finished cheeses of predetermined size by -placing thecheeses on the rollers 12, which when rotated by the belt 5 cause thecheeses to be conducted through the casing 13 in a direction opposite tothat of a current of dry hot air which is forced from the pipe 15through said casing. By providing a roller table to feed the cheesesthrough the casing, an arrangement is aforded whereby the bottomsurfaces of the cheeses are subjected to the action of the hot air andare therefore adapted to be dried simultaneously with the other surfacesof the cheeses. The dried cheeses upon leaving the discharge end of thedrying oven or casing 13 are removed from the roller table andsubsequently passed through hot parafin wax, after which they are boxed.

'In lconnection with this invention, attention is directed to mycopending application for patent for a"Processl for forming cheese,Serial' No. 431,458, filed December 17th, 1920, in which a large greencheese is cut into a plurality of pieces which are pressed insmall'individual molds 'which whenv filled are subjected to heat for ashort period tov expand the cheese therein to fill out the surfaceirregularities to form a small cheese of predetermined size havingsmooth even surfaces. It will thus be seen that the small cheeses formedas above described may be dried by passing' the same through a. currentof dry hot air, thus af ording a continuous process for the manufactureof small cheeses.

lt is thus evident that this invention eliminates the ordinary dryingroom and affords a process whereby the cheese may be paraf- Afinedwithin a short time after being taken from the mold.

am aware thaty numerous details `of construction may be varied through awide range without departing fromthe principles of thisinvention, and Itherefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise thannecessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

l. The process of drying the surfaces of cheeses by conducting thecheeses through a current of dry hot air over spaced rotatable rollers.

2. The process of drying the moisture from the surfaces of smallfinished cheeses by subjecting all of the surfaces of the cheeses to dryhot air as they are advanced through a housing by means of rotatablemembers.

3. The process of drying` the moisture from the surfaces or' smallfinished cheeses by placing the cheeses on a roller table which acts tofeed the cheeses through a heated casing.-

4. The process of drying the moisture from the surfaces of smallfinished cheeses by conveying the cheeses through a casing on membershaving a changing Contact therewith as said cheeses are conveyed in adirection opposite to that of a current of dry hot air passing throughsaid casing.

5. The process of drying` cheeses by conveying the same through acurrent of hot air by means of rotatable spaced rollers to permit thesurfaces of the cheeses contacting the rollers to be driedsimultaneously with the other surfaces of the cheeses.

6. The process of drying cheeses compris- .ing conducting the cheesesthrough n conned heated space by means of members which act to transferthe cheeses from one or said members to the other to permit all of thesurfaces of said cheeses to be simultaneously and evenly dried.

n testimony whereof il have hereunto .subscribed my name in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

JULIUS R. MEYERS.

`CARLTON HILL, FRED PAESIER.

